Development Update #12: December 2013

The Video.

Just one apology today: there are a lot of annoying microphone sounds :( I suppose I was a bit high-strung during this narration, and perhaps wagging the mic a bit too furiously while speaking. Hope you can enjoy all the same! This one's a nice, juicy update and clocks in at 20 minutes ;)

Shinier.

HDR nebula generation / rendering, new metal, new motion effects, and significantly-improved dynamic lighting make December's iteration of Limit Theory by far the most visually-appealing ever. At this point, LT is truly the vibrant, atmospheric universe that I always wanted from a space game. I don't suppose the graphics engine will ever be 100% complete, but I'd certainly be proud of it if released in this state!

Sleeker.

With 3D, holographic models now an integral part of the nodal interface, your interactions with the LT universe have never looked so smooth. But the graphics are only an appetizer to the main course: underneath the hood, a set of powerful new features including window-splitting, node dragging, categorical filtering, and searching promises to provide more control than ever before over your game. A game of great depth demands an interface of greater simplicity. In that regard, I have high hopes for our nodal UI!

Smarter.

The very last few days of the month saw the final and perhaps most pivotal component of the LT AI fall into place: delegation. With NPCs now grasping the concept of utilizing others (including the player) in their plans, we are about to witness a universe of cooperation, control, conflict, and, most importantly, opportunity.

*** Slightly Slower... ***

With 2013 finally exhausted, I'm growing a bit anxious about the slated release date of "early 2014." What I'd like to do is move my official estimate to "mid 2014." I honestly feel that an early 2014 release would require cutting corners, and at this point, we've come too far for that kind of thing!

I'd rather not construct excuses for you, as the reality is a very simple one: LT is a big project! I sincerely apologize for not meeting the original timeline. For better or for worse, I would sooner compromise on the timeline than on the vision and the features that I promised to you all.

At any rate, I hope you'll believe me when I say that I'm still totally on top of LT and pouring my everything into building this lovely space game, day after day, month after month. You need only take a peek at the dev logs if you're not yet convinced of my sincere love for it and the fierceness of my motivation to deliver!

Concerning funding, you needn't worry - there's still more than enough left to sustain development for however long it takes. The money that you all so generously pledged will allow LT to become a reality, and I will, of course, never ask for more. Of that I am certain!

Thanks for your understanding :)

December Retrospective

I went into December having high expectations. I'll be the first to admit that I would have liked to see an NPC post a contract before a few hours prior to the update video x_x Nonetheless, we came out of it with a heck of a lot to show, and I'm downright ecstatic for what the new year holds, especially in terms of seeing some real fun emerging from the NPCs. AI really kicked my rear for several months there, but, (fingers crossed), that beating is coming to an end! On top of it all, the graphics are plain lovely, and I can easily lose hours these days immersing myself in those fluffy nebulae.

It may take a bit longer than expected, but by God, Limit Theory will be the game I always wanted to play. I hope you'll share that sentiment! :)

2013 Retrospective

Wow. Who would have thought a year could go by so fast? Not I! But 2013 hasn't left us empty-handed. Far from it. We've seen upgrade after upgrade to the graphics pipeline - new fog, new metal, new nebulae, new stars, new lens flares, and a thousand other things. But we've also seen the the coming and going of several interfaces, culminating in the most recent achievement of one-interface-to-rule-them-all. We've seen the rise and fall of many an AI, and finally the success of an artificial intelligence that's capable not only of planning a life for itself, but also engaging with others to better itself. We've seen the conceptual mechanics of research, construction, factions, large-scale historical simulation, and more. We've seen two official releases of LTP, twelve update videos, and a whopping 425 daily / weekly dev log entries (yes, that's a bit staggering. At 15 to 30 minutes a pop, I'll let you do the math...)

But most importantly, we've seen a vision turning from the intangible wind of inspiration into a concrete reality of ones and zeros. Much has been done, and much remains to be done. Of one thing, however, there can be no doubt: each month we come a long, long way...and I see no evidence of that pattern letting up any time soon!

Ladies and gentlemen, as the new year rolls on in, I would like to make a New Year's resolution to you. 2014 will dwarf 2013. That is all.

you go take the time to do what it take to get this project to a state you want it to be published in :) even if that is late 2014 or later, you always keep us up to date and in the know, so I trust you to deliver, even if i have to wait a little more... and in the event, opening up for early access to get 'beta' testers isn't such a bad idea either...

as for the AI, awesome! too many ai's just leave the player out, so it will be very nice to see it actually try to figure the player in to their plans

The project is looking better and better every month. You're doing an awesome job, really. After the debacle of X Rebirth release, your decision to postpone release to properly polish is spot on. Don't be afraid of taking such decision. Can't wait to see what 2014 will deliver !

@Josh
I don't have any problems with the extended development time - I've played games that were rushed, and even though they had great potential, it was never realized. I'll gladly wait for the original vision of the game to become reality.

P.S. I think you're going to go far in the industry after LT hits the market. Keep up the good work. :)

Thank you for the update. I like the reflections from weapon shots on the Station, this helps to immerse in the game.
I'm also very keen to see more of the AI-development, because what's better than a beautiful universe? A living beautiful universe. ;-)

Take your time with the development, I would not mind a second annual update video, if the game pays back. :-)
Happy new year!

Thanks for the update Josh. Interface and game are looking wonderful. And don't worry about release dates to be honest. Take as much time as you need; that's the whole point of KS: is to offer developers like you the opportunity to develop on your own timeframe (within budgets of course) and not rush the game. Take as much time as you need to do Limit Theory justice. I am looking forward to what 2014 has in store for LT.

Enjoy watching this project - and hope you will take all the time you need to make a great game... mid 2014? likely it will run on to 2015 at least I would think, judging by other projects. Just hope you can take that much time out of your studies. Didn't expect it to release on schedule anyway :).

Happy new year Josh (and all)!
Yeah - I agree with the others - take your time.
Kickstarters running late is pretty much par for the course.
It gets frustrating when there is no updates for a while, but who on earth could accuse you of that? With new updates every month we at least get the satisfaction of seeing the project evolve, and we know how hard you are working. Make sure you take some time for yourself over the holidays to re-charge your batteries mate :)
Actually I think you spoil us - I am going to start expecting the same level of communications on all the projects I back in the future!

Superbacker

Man, this game keeps getting more and more beautiful, which is only surpassed by how awesome everything else about the game is. I'm getting more and more doubtful that my piddling laptop will be able to handle this game, but it matters little; I got my money's worth already just through updates. :)

As an addicted daily reader of the daily updates, I am truly impressed that the fervor with which you started this project hasn't diminished at all!! Your natural ability with the UI, graphics and the ability to summon an AI out of the ether blows me away. Happy new year and I can't wait to see what the new one brings!!! Enjoy the day off and have a beer - you've earned a hell of a lot more than that.

Josh, Happy New Year from an early backer. Each month you astound with your progress. Please take your time and continue to make this the best game it can be. Thanks for your ongoing transparency and dedication. A great year for LT's development and can't wait for mid-2014!

Thanks Josh! Mightily impressive update video on many levels and a sheer delight to watch. I will wish you Happy New Year (again!) and add more thanks for the terrific work you have done on LT over the year. Really pleased you have officially announced the delay and I echo the words of all those who are prepared to wait for as long as it takes for you to deliver the LT you are "satisfied" with. :)

Happy New Year! It's already 2014 where I am (New Zealand) and this update was great to wake up to.
Take the time you need, we all want it to be the best it can be. And man, it's looking amazing already :)
Fantastic work Josh. Be proud of what you have achieved so far.